Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as investors weighed the global economic outlook.
By 12:30 pm AEDT (12:30 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was flat, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.6% from record highs earlier this week. South Korea’s Kospi 200 rose 1.7% to a fresh record high of 3,610.4.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 1% to 26,479.3, while China’s CSI 300 gained 1.3%, rebounding after the Golden Week holiday to trade at its highest level since 18 August 2015.
Economic data from Japan showed that the producer price index (PPI) rose 2.7% year-on-year in September, according to the Bank of Japan.
The reading matched August’s pace but exceeded market expectations of 2.5%. On a monthly basis, producer prices rose 0.3%, reversing a 0.2% decline in August.
On Wall Street overnight, major United States benchmarks ended lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.1%.
In commodities, Brent crude fell 1.6% to US$65.22 per barrel, while spot gold declined 1.6% to US$3,976.24 per ounce after reaching record highs earlier in the week.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.3% on Thursday to 26,752.6, while India’s BSE Sensex added 0.5% to close at 82,172.1.
European markets were also mixed overnight. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4% from Wednesday’s record close to 9,509.4, Germany’s DAX rose 0.1% to 24,611.3, and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.2% to 8,041.4.
